


Tales from the Sand Box

by Spatzi_Schatz



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Deaf Keith (Voltron), Galra don’t take over the universe and aren’t assholes, Gen, Kid Fic, No war, except Sendak, he will always be an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 13:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17788355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spatzi_Schatz/pseuds/Spatzi_Schatz
Summary: More from the Deaf!Keith AU that's taking over my life. Each chapter is a self-contained snippet about Deaf!Keith growing up. So far I only have two sort of sketched out, but I'll update the chapter count if more decide to make themselves known.





	Tales from the Sand Box

**Author's Note:**

> "Lance likes the swings best because, on the top of his swing, he can see the entire playground." 
> 
> \---
> 
> This is how Keith, Lance, and Hunk basically become bffs for life. It's also Veronica's favorite story to tell potential significant others in order to gauge their worthiness. Both Shiro and Allura snort-laugh and gain instant approval.

Lance likes the swings best because, on the top of his swing, he can see the entire playground. He can see his best friend Hunk in the sandbox, and Marco on the jungle gym, and Rachel holding court with her friends on the playscape, and during afternoon recess, he can watch Luis playing soccer in the field with the older kids. Sometimes, he can even see Veronica, sitting in the shade with a book on her lap because she thinks she’s too cool for recess now. 

Today, though, he sees Sendak followed by his usual entourage, stalking toward the new kid in Lance’s class. The new kid, Keith Mrs. Holt had introduced him as, is Deaf, which means he can’t hear, ever since he was born. When he joined their class, standing at the front with Mrs. Holt and Ms. Ryner, he hadn’t said anything, hadn’t done anything really except glare at his sneakers. He sits at the same table as Hunk. Ms. Ryner (she’s the school special ed teacher. Lance likes her. She helps him sometimes when he can’t finish his work.) sits nearby and makes hand motions when Keith looks at her. Mrs. Holt called it ASL, American Sign Language. Hunk says Keith seems like he could be nice, but Hunk says that about everybody. But he is really good at math. He’s the only one who finished his Mad Minute worksheet and got all the problems right. Lance is definitely not jealous. He could finish his Mad Minute too if the tornado in his head just took a chill pill. 

Sendak is a year older than them, a year bigger, and a bully. His dad is some big-shot military person, a visiting Galra commander at the nearby base. 

Galra come from outer space. There was an accident in space when Lance was a baby, on Pluto’s moon Kerberos, and a bunch of scientists almost got hurt, but the Galra and the Alteans—more aliens—happened to be nearby and saved the day. They couldn’t fix the scientists’ spaceship, but they towed it back to Earth for them and introduced themselves. That’s how Earth found out about aliens. 

(Lance doesn’t remember any of this. He was just a baby, like 2 or something, but Veronica told him all about it. He doesn’t think Veronica really remembers it either, but she’s read all about it. She wants to go to space someday, and she will. Lance knows this in his bones. His older sister is so smart that she can do anything, not that Lance needs to tell her this. (1) she already knows, and (2) she’s already a big enough know-it-all as it is.) 

Now, Earth knows about a lot of different alien planets, and lots of different aliens live on Earth, and there are a few in Lance’s class, like Shay and Olia, and not all aliens are scary or mean like in some old movies (and Lance’s mama taught him to always give people the benefit of the doubt, especially if they look different from you) but alien or not, Sendak is a mean bully and bad news. 

At the top of his swing, he sees Sendak moving toward the new kid, who’s drawing on the black top with chalk. As Lance swings down, he sees Sendak trying to talk to Keith, but Keith doesn’t look up from his drawing until Sendak’s shadow falls over it. 

“Hey runt. This is my blacktop. You need my permission to draw your stupid space ships. Did’ya get my permission first? Huh?” 

Keith doesn’t answer Sendak, just stares at him, eyes squinting like Veronica when she’s trying to puzzle out a word but won’t ask papa for help. He goes back to his drawing. 

Sendak’s shoulders draw up at being ignored and he stomps closer. “I’m taking to you! Don’t you talk, huh runt? Or do you talk funny cause you’re a half-breed?” Sendak’s entourage sneers behind him. 

This is gonna get bad real quick. 

Lance skids his swing to a stop and whistles to Hunk. His best friend looks up, looks where Lance is running, and scrambles to catch up. Just as they’re coming to the rescue, Sendak stomps on a piece of chalk, catching Keith’s fingers under his foot. 

“You should look at people when they’re talking to you, _Dumachk_!”

Keith yelps and yanks his hand back, nursing it against his chest, shooting to his feet to glare at Sendak as he and his posse laugh. 

“Leave him alone, Sendak!” Lance shouts, coming to stand in front of Keith and standing up as straight as he can. He might be a string bean, but if he stretches, he’s taller than most kids. Hunk hovers by his shoulder. “He’s Deaf. He can’t hear what you’re saying. Also, it’s not your blacktop. It’s everybody’s.” 

Sendak sneers at them. “So, not only is he Dumachk, he’s broken too.” 

Lance is about to make some sort of witty reply back when Keith, quicker than Lance has seen anybody move, comes around him to stand in front of Sendak and jabs his fingers right into Sendak’s throat. A chorus of “ohhhh”s goes up from the crowd behind Sendak as the bully falls to one knee. Keith is grinning kinda like a coyote. It’s a little freaky actually. Maybe he didn’t need their help after all. 

“Who broken now?” Keith says, chin jutting up. Lance might be a little in awe of this scrappy new kid. He doesn’t even care that he has a lisp. 

All heck breaks loose after that. Hunk hauls Lance off his feet and away from the brawl that breaks out between Sendak and Keith. Lance is squirming, because as scrappy as Keith is, it is not a fair fight and Keith needs backup. It doesn’t last that long though because soon there’s an adult voice raised above the chaos. 

“What’s all this then, aye?” Principal Coran stands above them all and picks both boys up by the scruffs of their necks, looking between them. Keith’s knuckles are bloody, and his lip is bleeding, but Sendak’s not looking much better. He’s got the beginnings of a black eye, and he’s holding his ear where Lance is pretty sure Keith bit him. Lance thinks Sendak’s trying really hard not to cry. Score for Team Voltron, Lance thinks.

Principal Coran is looking between the two, waiting patiently for an explanation, but both boys just continue to stare at their shoes. The principal heaves one of his signature heavy sighs. “Alright boys! You know the rules! Fighting gets you an afternoon on the wall!” 

“But Principal Coran, that’s not fair!” Lance pipes up. “Sendak started it.”

“You know the rules, Lance. We have a zero-tolerance policy for fighting here. I’m afraid it doesn’t matter who started it.” 

As Principal Coran starts to lead the two boys away, toward the wall of the school where they’ll have to sit out the rest of recess, he tuts as Lance tries to follow. 

“No friends allowed. Now go play, Lance. There are only ten minutes of recess left,” Principal Coran says. 

Lance huffs and crosses his arms, watching Keith get led off. Principal Coran sits Keith on one side of the stoop and Sendak on the other. Keith stares straight ahead at the kids playing on the blacktop, skinny arms crossed tight. 

Hunk tugs on Lance’s hand “Come on,” he says. “We can at least go clean up his chalk and bring it inside for him.” 

Lance scuffs his feet. “Yeah, okay.” 

As they’re cleaning up the chalk, Lance suddenly gets an idea. “Hey Hunk! Let me push you!” 

Hunk blinks as he looks up at his friend. “Excuse me?” 

“Let me push you!” Lance says again, excited for his great plan. “It’s not fair that Keith has to sit on the wall. He probably doesn’t even know what he did wrong. Principal Coran wasn’t looking at him while he talked like Ms. Ryner said. But we can’t sit on the wall without getting in trouble first. Let me push you down. I won’t do it very hard, I’ll just pretend, I promise.” 

“Uh.. yeah, okay, I guess,” Hunk says.

“Great! Let’s go!” Lance takes Hunk’s hand and pulls him toward where Principal Coran is chatting with Mr. Puig. 

“You ready?” Lance whispers.

“Uh yeah, I-” before Hunk finishes, Lance charges forward and shoves his best friend as hard as he can. Surprised, Hunk yelps and falls back on his butt. 

“I don’t want it!” Lance shouts, just to make sure the teachers hear him and look over. “I’ve never liked your mud pies!” Lance immediately regrets it from the way Hunk’s eyes go wide and wet and he leans down quickly to pat his knee. He promises himself he’ll eat five of Hunk’s mud pies tomorrow at recess. 

A shadow falls over them as Principal Coran comes over, hands on his hips. “What’s all this then?” he asks. 

“Lance pushed me,” Hunk sniffles. 

And this was the plan, but Lance has to bite his lip to keep from babbling his apologies to Hunk. Instead he looks to Principal Coran to accept his fate. 

Principal Coran’s hands are still on his hips. “Well. Lance. You know the rules. To the wall with you for the rest of recess.” 

Lance hangs his head. “Yes sir,” he mopes, trudging his way to the wall in his best impression of sulking and plops down an arms length from Keith, as per the rules. He waits a whole minute before slowly scuttling closer to Keith, eyes darting to Principal Coran every few seconds to make sure he isn’t looking. Keith is looking at him, nonplussed. Lance waves at him, grinning. 

“Hi. I’m Lance,” he says. 

Keith still stares at him. Lance screws his face up in thought before holding out his hand, palm up, and making a “gimmie” motion. Warily, Keith gives Lance his hand, palm-up. Lance traces the letters of his name slowly into Keith’s palm. He saw it in a book about Helen Keller. She was Deaf and blind, but until Lance learns how to make the hand signs, this’ll have to due. When he finishes spelling, Lance points at himself and grins. He points out onto the playground where Hunk is sitting on the edge of the sandbox and spells out his name too. From the way Keith is now shyly smiling, Lance is pretty sure he gets it. Keith takes his hand back and points to himself. 

“Keef,” he says, smiling a bit more when Lance nods enthusiastically and grins back. 

With a sneaky glance at Principal Coran again, Lance pulls a piece of chalk out of his pocket and hands it to Keith. Keith takes it after a moment, pauses, and breaks it in half, handing the second half to Lance. They spend the rest of recess doodling on the brick of the school building, hiding it behind their backs whenever a teacher wanders too close.

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to add a scene at the end but it felt complete where I ended it. 
> 
> But Lance sits with Keith in the office (Papa Kogane got a phone call bc Keith couldn't make it through his first day without a fist fight) and refuses to leave him to sit by himself until his dad comes (Mama McClain huffs at her son but really doesn't mind. The poor thing looks like he could use a friend). Papa Kogane shows up with Kosmo, the service woof, and talks with Principal Coran and Ms. Ryner while Keith and the McClain kids pet Kosmo. The adults assume the kids aren't listening, but Lance pipes up to inform them it was _not_ Keith's fault. Sendak started it and called Keith a mean name. He doesn't think he repeats it right, but it must be close enough by the way Ms. Ryner and Principal Coran's faces turn tomato red. Mama McClain doesn't know what it means either, but she can guess well enough and this. will. not. stand. She gives Coran a piece of her mind until he's pulling nervously on his mustache and stuttering about calling Sendak's parents in for a conference as well. This is how the Kogane boys get adopted by the McClain clan. The end.


End file.
